


The B&B

by mittwoch



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Alfred is a jerk (no surprise there), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Coming Out, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, Ivy is pretentious, M/M, Mentions of: Robert/Denker/Patmore/Bates/Rose, Thomas/Branson Bromance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-05-12 15:18:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5670643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mittwoch/pseuds/mittwoch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jimmy expects adventure when he goes to New York City (and maybe some education since he is there on scholarship). What he does not expect is to find himself in a gay bar covered in green glitter, pretending to be the man with the icy blue eyes' boyfriend.</p>
<p>Or the one where Thomas and Branson co-own a gay bar, Jimmy and Sybbie draw unicorns, and Daisy is excited about everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Getting to Know You

**Author's Note:**

> I got the idea for this story from an old [season 5 interview](http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hLU0LQpjXt8) in which the cast members were asked what their characters would be doing if they lived in today's society (Be forewarned though that I tweaked some of their answers and not all characters appear in the story).

"Are you sure we're at the right club?" Alfred questioned, looking at the queue full of men in the dingy alleyway.

"Positive," Andy sighed in frustration. They had been over this twice before. "Denker told me this is where all the guys go."

"Well that's obvious," Alfred scoffed, gesturing to the long line of men.  "Did she mention anything about any birds being here? I haven't seen one yet!"

"Oi, what are we chop liver? We're standing right here!" Daisy pointed to herself and Ivy. 

Andy interjected before anything else could be said, "Look, the girls are probably all inside. That's how clubs work, isn't it? They let all the girls in and make the guys wait forever."

Jimmy just rolled his eyes at all this nonsense. He had only been in New York a month and was starting to hate it. Not that he didn't love the bustling city, the theatres, or the "thrill of adventure" atmosphere, he just hated having to put with these people. 

Jimmy was sent to America  along with four other winners thanks to the generosity of Robert Crawley. Robert Crawley was an investment banker back in their hometown, who nearly ran the entire town into debt several times. To express his apologies, he decided to award five students a scholarship of a lifetime once he gained back a good amount of money. The winners, besides Jimmy, just happened to be the most irritating people in the world.

There was Alfred, who was the modern day version of Frankenstein's monster. He was just as tall and just as block-headed. He only took interest in two things: cooking and Ivy. It was nice for the fact that Jimmy never had to worry about food, but having to listen to him babble on about Ivy was an extreme price to pay.

Then there was Andy. The naïve boy got lured into every trick and scam New York had to offer. Within the month they had been there, Andy had already been robbed twice and had his luggage stolen. He was like a lost puppy. To solve his problems, he kept going to an old drunkard lady named Denker, whom he met one night in a bar, for advice on what to do. Poor boy didn't even realize she was just scamming him into getting her free drinks.

Daisy started off in New York just as naïve as Andy, but she was a quick learner. After a few mishaps she took it upon to educate herself on ways to avoid crime. Jimmy admired her determination. Sometimes her determination though was a bit too overwhelming. After educating herself on that, she couldn't stop. She became obsessed with knowledge and took her studies very seriously. 

Ivy was the complete opposite. Ivy, who was the last of the group, bugged Jimmy to no end. She spent most her time talking of all the things she could do if she had a better life. Instead of appreciating the fact she won a scholarship to stay in New York for a year, she complained about how boring her life was.

Jimmy thought she was a waste of a recipient. There were those, like himself, who would give their right arm at the chance to go to New York. When Jimmy heard about the scholarship at school, he knew he had to sign up.   
   
School wise, Jimmy was doing pretty decent. He didn't have that many classes to take seeing as it was his last year. So he just chose a few random courses, one of them being a writing course taught by Professor Bates. Writing had never been Jimmy's strong suit, so he thought now might be a good time to work on it. So far the course proved not to be that difficult. Professor Bates was a has-been writer, barely scraping by on a teacher's wage and disability benefits.  Because so, he graded fairly easy; and that wasn't even what Jimmy liked most about the class. Jimmy loved the fact that the others weren't in it. It was his one chance to breathe. All the rest of his time was spent with them.

The five shared a crammed flat on the sixth floor above a bakery. From all the horror stories Jimmy had heard of mold, rats, and asbestos found in most New York flats, Jimmy considered themselves lucky. Though it was small, their flat was clean. He had to share a room with Alfred and Andy while the girls got their own, but he would take that any day over having to deal with rats. 

Plus living over the bakery was nice. The owner, Mrs.Patmore, took a liking to Daisy and would always fill her up with free ingredients, which Alfred would then somehow incorporate into his dishes. So Jimmy had to admit living with the others wasn't all bad. 

They were also the closest thing Jimmy had to home, even though he didn't have much of a home. He had no living relatives he kept in contact with. Both his parents had died and he didn't have any siblings. The closest thing he had to a relative was his mum's best friend, Ms. Anstruther. He didn't even particularly care for her, but she was the closest tie to his home he had, or at least she was until the four came along.

At times it was nice having the others around. They never questioned Jimmy's habits nor made fun of his "accent" unlike many of the Americans did during class. They all seemed to obsess with his voice and kept asking him to say certain phrases. He wasn't a parrot for bloody sakes.

However, tonight was not one of those times it was nice to have the others around. They somehow coerced him into going to this bar. Jimmy eyed the flashing neon-green sign above the club entrance: **B &B**

He pondered what the initials stood for. Jimmy had come across a few of weird named clubs during his time in New York. Denker had sent Andy, which in reality meant the entire group, to the oddest clubs. So far they had been to: Revving (which had been a biker bar occupied by older all men wearing black leather vests), Staches (a hipster club decorated in everything moustache-shaped), Slam Dunks (a sports bar filled with some of the biggest pricks Jimmy ever met), and Victor's Secret (so cleverly named after the club's owner, Victor, who enjoyed dressing up in drag in his spare time). Needless to say, Jimmy was rather worried about this new club.

All the people queued looked decent enough. They wore simple clothes, nothing too dressy or anything. Though a good majority had glitter on, which Jimmy found peculiar. But there was a long line to get in, which was a good sign. It meant the club was actually something worthwhile. The only downside was that Jimmy had to wait in said line. 

"Well if what Andy says is true, than we shouldn't have to wait in line!" Ivy exclaimed, excited at the notion of not having to wait. "They'll let us girls in and since you guys are with us, you'll get right in!"

"Smart thinking Ivy," Alfred smiled at her. He nudged Jimmy on the shoulder, "Ivy always comes up with the best ideas, don't she?"

"If you say so," Jimmy mumbled.

"C'mon on then!" Daisy lead the group past the wrapping queue to the entrance door where there was a hefty bouncer standing covered in tattoos.

"Names," the man said in a gruff voice, adding to his already daunting presence, whilst holding a clipboard. 

The group stammered, all knowing their names weren't on the list.

"No name, no entry."

"Can't you let us in just this once? It can be our little secret," Ivy winked in a flirtatious manner. 

The man's face remained in it's cold state, "If you want in, you can wait in line with the others."

Alfred made his way to the front of the pack and slipped the man a twenty, "Care to recheck that list again?"

"A twenty? Is this the best you got?" The man laughed at the bribe, throwing the crumpled bill into Alfred's face. "No exceptions. Now leave before I call the cops on ya."

"Whoa, what's this talk of cops about?" A man approached, walking up the alleyway with a lit cigarette in hand. 

He carried himself well, giving him an air of importance. Jimmy was immediately intrigued by the man. He gave him a good look over, wanting to know all there was to know about this man.

The man was of a good build-a bit taller than Jimmy, but not as tall as Alfred (no one was). The dark color of his polo shirt matched that of his combed hair. It also showed off the man's toned figure as well as  exposed his creamy white skin. The color bordered that of a pasty white. The black shirt only highlighted this feature. 

The contrast drew attention to his face. Jimmy took notice of the man's strong jaw line. It was sharp as was his nose. Jimmy could see faint lines around the man's eyes, indicating that he was a bit older. The eyes in themselves were intriguing alone; they shone icy blue that Jimmy could see despite the darkness of the alleyway. 

The bouncer cleared his throat and said in a shaky voice, "Well, um, they weren't on the list, sir, and they were trying to bribe their way in."

The man stood in silence for a moment, exhaling the smoke from his cigarette. His eyes raked over the group, inspecting them each thoroughly. Jimmy didn't know why he suddenly felt nervous under the man's scrutiny or the pressing desire to be of his likings. It was probably just his ego needing to be satisfied. But Jimmy was relieved when the man lingered on him just a bit longer than the others, turning away with a crooked smile. Jimmy was hoping that was a good thing.

The man threw down his cigarette, stubbing it out with his loafer. He titled his head up in a prim manner and addressed the bouncer, "Well I see nothing wrong in a few kids wanting to have some fun. Certainly no reason to call the cops."

"Of course. Sorry sir."

"As long as it doesn't happen again," the man said with a sharp tone of authority. He turned to the group and spoke in a much friendly manner, "Sorry about the confusion. Shall we go in? My treat."

The bouncer stepped aside from the entrance door and gestured for them to enter.

"Ooo," Daisy squealed turning to the mysterious man, "thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The others expressed their gratitude and quickly slipped inside the club. Jimmy wasn't so easily pleased. He was curious to what this man's position was. How was he able to let them in? Was he an owner? He didn't look like the usual slimy bar owners. 

He looked to the man with a raised eyebrow. 

The man simply smiled widely, "Enjoy."

"Aren't you coming in?" Jimmy pondered.

"Don't worry, I'll be in there," his smiled turned to one of warmth, "I just have to deal with some matters first."

It was obvious by "matters" he was referring to the bouncer. Jimmy watched as the body guard's face paled. If that was anything to go by, this man wasn't one to be trifled with. 

Jimmy nodded in response and went inside. He was instantly met with a haze of green and booming music. He winced at its loudness, rubbing at his ears trying to get them to adjust. Jimmy snaked along the side of the club scanning the place for the group. They had somehow disappeared into the depths of the crowd within the fifteen seconds Jimmy had stayed behind.

Jimmy tried standing on his tip-toes to see over the crowd, in hopes to see Alfred. The man was so tall that he stood out from most others. However, Jimmy couldn't seem to spot him out from all the other tall men there.  

He retreated to the bar in defeat, taking a seat on one of the stools. He was quickly greeted by the bartender. 

"What can I get ya?" The man spoke in a thick Irish accent. Jimmy thought it was rather fitting since everything in the club was colored green.  

"Just a beer," Jimmy replied.

A moment later the bartender slid over a beer, "There you go."

"Cheers," Jimmy tilted the bottle towards the barman  before taking a sip.

"You're not from around here, are you?" The barman questioned.

"Why do you ask that?"  

"You don't sound like you're from here. You sound like how they do at home...or my old home at least."

This confused Jimmy because he definitely wasn't Irish. His puzzlement must've been apparent because the bartender continued talking.

"I was born in Ireland, but my home is in Yorkshire. My wife was from there. Lived there for awhile before moving here," the bartender summed up.

Jimmy nodded as if he was interested in what the man was saying. In his head though, he wondered why bartenders were  so talkative. Was it a job requirement for them to be? He wasn't sure why they always felt the need to talk to the customers. 

"So where are you from?" The bartender continued to prattle on.  

"Not too far from Yorkshire actually. It's a small town no one has heard of."

"Ah, well it's nice to have a bit of home here," the man smiled and left Jimmy to attend to another customer. 

"Bothering you, is he?" A silky voice breathed in his ear.

Jimmy turned slightly to see the man from outside sitting down next to him. He could feel his pulse quicken. 

"Uh, no he wasn't," Jimmy lied.

"Good, cos otherwise I might have to fire him," the man spoke with a wry grin.

"So you own this place then?" Jimmy was finally going to get some answers. 

"Well co-own. I'm just one of the 'B's in the title. Branson is the other one." He pointed to the bartender. 

Branson heard his name and turned to them, "Oh, Thomas has he told you where he is from yet?"

"Not yet," the man who Branson identified as Thomas replied coolly. "I thought it might be best to start with names."

"I'm Jimmy, Jimmy Kent."

"Thomas Barrow," Thomas replied curtly. "So Jimmy, where are you from?"

"Just outside Yorkshire."

Thomas' brows quirked, "Ah, really? Did Branson tell you we are from Yorkshire?"

He glanced at Branson, who left to take someone else's order. "Yeah, he mentioned it.

"What brings you to America then?" 

"Scholarship."

"Oh, so you're a smart one?" Thomas asked in a smooth voice.

"I'd like to think so," Jimmy smugly grinned.

Thomas mirrored Jimmy's grin.

"I'm sure a man like you is educated in many things." Thomas winked at Jimmy as he took a sip from his drink. 

Jimmy didn't know why he blushed at this. Maybe it was due to Thomas' suggestive manner or maybe from the way he eyed Jimmy head to toe again. Either or, Thomas had some kind of effect over him that caused him to feel overly conscious of himself.

"What do you think of this club?" Thomas changed the topic, setting down his drink on the counter. "Is it your kind of place?"

"I can safely say it is the first club in New York I've felt comfortable in," Jimmy said truthfully. Compared to the other clubs, **B &B** was heaven. Though there was a surplus of male attendees, green lights blinding him, and an absurd amount of glitter spread throughout the club, it was the most normal club Jimmy had been to. It was just people dancing and having a good time.

"I'm glad to hear that. That's the whole point of this club...for everyone to feel comfortable in their own skin," Thomas placed a hand high on Jimmy's thigh. 

Jimmy suddenly did not feel so comfortable. It wasn't the touch that made him feel this way (the touch was _beyond comfortable_ ), it was the fact that anyone could see. Andy or Daisy could pop-up at any moment and see Thomas squeezing his thigh. This was something Jimmy desperately did not want.

Not that there was anything wrong with a man making a move on another man, but Jimmy Kent was **absolutely, positively, not gay**...at least that is what he told himself every morning in the mirror. But like the saying goes, actions speak louder than words and Jimmy's actions certainly did not read "absolutely, positively, not gay". He let Thomas' hand linger, too consumed in pleasure to pull away even though his mind said to.

Thankfully none of Jimmy's comrades showed up. They were still lost in sea of abundant dancing men. Thomas lazily drug his hand down Jimmy's leg, removing it to place it on the bar counter instead. His hand landed near Jimmy's own. Jimmy could feel the slight brush of Thomas' pinky against the side of his hand. He smiled at this.

So naturally his happiness was torn away from him immediately. Thomas was called by Branson, who apparently needed assistance at the other side of the bar. 

Jimmy was left with his drink. He casually sipped from it as he scanned the club, yet again, for some sign of the group. And yet again, he was let down. He saw nothing of them, but somehow he had inadvertently caught the eye of some man a few feet away. He had a chin of extraordinary size. It was probably the biggest one he had ever seen. Jimmy was transfixed by its oddity. The blonde-haired man looked back upon him with great interest. Jimmy adverted his eyes quickly. He did not want to lead the man on. The only man Jimmy had interest in at the moment was Thomas...in a complete hetero way of course...

"Can I top you off?" A voice caught Jimmy off guard. Jimmy nearly sputtered his drink in surprise. He looked to see the blonde-haired man next to him. His chin was even larger face-to-face. Jimmy couldn't tear his eyes away from it no matter how hard he tried. "Your drink I mean...can I top off your drink?"

"Oh...um..." Jimmy awkwardly shuffled in his seat, not sure how to turn him down. The man looked sweet with innocent blue eyes, but Jimmy wasn't interested. "Thanks but I've already had one too many."

"Well how about a dance then?" The man asked with a crooked smile. "I'm William by the way." 

"Well William...that sounds great and all but the thing is...is that...um..." Jimmy was floundering. He needed to think of something and he needed to think of something fast, but his brain was failing him.

"Oh, there you are _love_!" Thomas shouted from the other side of the bar, strutting over to Jimmy. "I've been looking for you. Should've known you were at the bar!" 

Thomas arrived cheerfully, placing a hand on the lower half of Jimmy's back that was dangerously close to his ass. Jimmy quirked a brow by his actions. He felt every bit confused as William looked. He had no idea what Thomas was up to. 

Things became even more confusing when Thomas entered Jimmy's personal space by standing extremely close. He could feel the body heat pour off Thomas. He practically purred in Jimmy's ear, "Can never tear you away from the drinks, can I _darling_?" 

Thomas didn't allow Jimmy to answer. Instead he placed a delicate finger to Jimmy's chin, turning it ever so slightly to face him. Then he went in for a kiss.

It was a deep sensual kiss. The kind of kiss a traveler gives their loved one after reuniting from two months away. 

It was that tender balance between cherishing and wanting.

The kiss left Jimmy seeing stars. He was out breath and his vision was slightly fuzzy. He had a to blink a few times in order to snap back to reality. He wasn't sure how much he missed, but William was already blubbering.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were taken," he said with an apologetic look. He awkwardly backed away, "I'm just going to go...nice meeting you."

"Knew that would scare him off," Thomas said in a pleased voice once William was far out of sight.

Jimmy felt stupid for not realizing this was Thomas' intentions before. 

"Though I have to say, with looks like yours I'd thought you'd easily know how to get rid of a guy. Must have them hitting on you all the time."

"I, uh, actually don't have much experience turning down-" the rest of Jimmy's confessions-in which he never had the opportunity to turn down a man since he was absolutely, positively, not gay-was drowned out by an obnoxious yell.

"OI! JIMMY!"

Jimmy turned to see Alfred flagging him down with a crazy hand a few feet away. The rest of the group was directly behind. They all looked terribly frightened, almost as if they had seen a ghost. Their paranoid eyes kept watch to make sure no one got too close to them as they moved as a unit towards him. 

"Jimmy! We've got to get out of here!" Alfred said with urgency.

"What? Why?" He looked to the others for answers.

"Because." Andy said in what was supposed to be a stern tone, but came out more like a whiney seven year old.

"Because why?" Jimmy gritted, becoming agitated. 

"It's a gay bar Jimmy!" Alfred spoke in a harsh whisper, turning to gesture to large crowd of men on the dance floor. 

And it was in that moment everything made sense: all the men queued outside, the annoying amounts of glitter everywhere, being hit on by William.

His conversation with Thomas echoed in his head:

_What do you think of this club? Is it your kind of place?_

_I can safely say it is the first club in New York I've felt comfortable in._

_I'm glad to hear that. That's the whole point of this club...for everyone to feel comfortable in their own skin._

How could Jimmy be so thick? All the facts were staring him in the face. Apparently his stupidity was a reoccurring theme for the night. However, the facts didn't change anything. He was still having a good time.

Jimmy wanted to argue there was nothing wrong being in a gay club. "So? It's fine-"

"He's hitting on you!" Alfred nodded towards Thomas, who was still standing rather close to him. "Can't you see that?!"

Thomas took a step closer to Alfred, his posture becoming incredibly proper. His expression turned cold. "And can't you see Jimmy is a grown man capable of making decisions for himself?"

"Trust me, he's not interested. C'mon Jimmy," Alfred harshly shoved past Thomas, grabbing Jimmy by the arm and dragging him off the bar stool away from Thomas. 

"Well he certainly seemed interested to me," Thomas spoke coolly.

Alfred pretended to ignore Thomas' comment as he herded the group towards the exit. He had a near death grip on Jimmy's arm to ensure he wouldn't escape. Jimmy tried to test this by pulling away from Alfred's clutches. 

He couldn't leave. Not like this. 

Jimmy was able to break free, but only for a moment. Andy caught his other arm in milliseconds which allowed Alfred time to get a better grip on Jimmy. 

"But Thomas-" Jimmy tried to explain as he was dragged from the bar.

"Is one of them," Alfred said with disgust.

Together Andy and Alfred lead Jimmy out of the club, leaving behind a blanked-face Thomas.


	2. And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jimmy needs to set things straight with Thomas.

"I'm never trusting Denker again!" Andy proclaimed the next morning over a bowl of cereal. "A gay club out of all things..."

"It's disgusting is what it is," Alfred spoke with a mouth full of toast.

"Your eating habits is what's disgusting," Jimmy watched in horror as Alfred loudly munched on his burnt toast.

"Jimmy's right, Alfred," Daisy, who was sitting next to Jimmy,  stated. "You should chew with your mouth closed. Show some manners."

Alfred quickly swallowed the contents in his mouth. "Oi! I have manners!"

Jimmy scoffed, "That's debatable."

"I certainly do! Don't I have manners Ivy?" Alfred barked at Ivy, who was just entering the kitchen, still dressed in her pajamas. 

"Not so loud!" Ivy covered her ears. It was obvious from the dark circle under her eyes, she was still recovering from last night. 

Alfred turned his attention to Andy, '"Go on, Andy. Tell them I have manners."

"Well..." Andy hesitated.

Jimmy let out a laugh. "Even your best mate doesn't think you do! It's no surprise really especially after the stunt you pulled last night."

"You mean when I saved you from that man?" Alfred's anger bubbled to his face.

"You mean the man who let us in the club for free?" Jimmy countered, raising his voice just slightly to match Alfred's tone.

"That's because he wanted something from you!"

"Don't be like that Alfred," Daisy chimed in, "he seemed nice."

"It was just an act!" Alfred threw his hands up in exclamation, accidentally dropping the toast out of his hands. 

"What makes you think that?" Jimmy asked. 

"He was hitting on you! He thought you were gay."

"That doesn't make him a bad person."

"Well it makes him creepy!"

"Yeah and the way you obsess over Ivy is creepy and yet we still treat you with respect," Jimmy snubbed, knowing it would get a rise out of Alfred. 

"Wha-" Alfred stuttered, doing exactly what Jimmy thought he would do. "I do not obsess." He looked anxiously at Ivy to see her reaction. She was zoned out, not even paying attention to their conversation. Her eyes were glazed as she stared at the toast in front of her.

Daisy continued the conversation, "You need to apologize Alfred."

"Apologize?!"

"Yes," Jimmy stated.

"No way. Over my dead body."

"That can be arranged," Jimmy said under his breath. 

"I did nothing wrong. I'm not apologizing. End of story. I'm leaving for class. Andy you coming?"

"Go on ahead. I'll meet you in just a minute. I need to grab a few things first." Andy waited until Alfred left the room before turning to Jimmy. He spoke in a quick whisper, "I'm sorry for what I did last night. I shouldn't have dragged you off like that. The whole gay thing threw me off...not that there is anything wrong with that. I just needed to get out of there."

"Well I don't think Thomas did anything wrong!" Daisy proclaimed, stating her innocence. "It wasn't right how we treated him. I feel terrible about it."

_You should!_ Jimmy thought angrily. He knew he shouldn't be this wound-up over a man he just met, but Thomas had this effect on him. He had a way of getting into Jimmy's head and blurring any thought that wasn't Thomas-related. Maybe it was Jimmy's subconscious reminding him of his guilt. After all it was his so-called friends that got them into this mess. 

That's when Jimmy decided once and for all to settle things, "Well if Alfred won't apologize, I will."

\---

Jimmy arrived to  **B &B** early that night. Apparently not early enough because a large queue of men had already began to form. 

How Jimmy didn't realize this was a gay club before baffled him. It was so obvious, only if he took his eyes off Thomas for a moment to notice. But now with Thomas not there, Jimmy had time to notice. He observed the men, watching them move with ease. They were so free in their movements-a caress here and a hug there-nothing held them back. They even kissed one another other with no hesitation. Jimmy envied them.

Jimmy could never bring himself to do something like that with a man out in public...not that he ever wanted to of course. But even if he did want to, he wasn't sure he had the guts to display such affections. After seeing how Alfred reacted, he could just imagine all the other prejudice he would have to face and it was daunting. He hated being looked at different. He just wanted to fit in. Therefore, even if he wanted to do such things with a man-especially one in particular with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes-he wouldn't. But Jimmy would never want to do those things though because he was **absolutely, positively not gay**.

Jimmy was becoming anxious. The line hadn't moved in over 40 minutes. He was bouncing foot-to-foot, worried he was too far back to make tonight's cut. 

"C'mon, c'mon,  c'mon," Jimmy whispered impatiently to himself.

And as if the queue gods had heard him, the line started to move. It wasn't by much, but it brought Jimmy to the front of the line. 

The bouncer inspected him making sure he was fit enough for  **B &B's** standards.

Apparently Jimmy failed. "Sorry pal. Find some other club to dance in."

"What?!" Jimmy screeched. No one had ever rejected him before and certainly not a club bouncer. What club wouldn't want Jimmy? He was the type of good-looking that attracted both girls and guys, if William was anything to go off of. 

"Excuse me! I was just in your club last night."

"Well last night was slow. Now move along." The bouncer waved his hand to shoo him away.

Jimmy resorted to plan B. "Fine, I will leave. I guess I'll just tell  _Thomas_ that I couldn't meet him because his bouncer wouldn't let me in."

Jimmy could tell the moment the bouncer realized his mistake. His eyes went wide and he began to stutter, "Oh yes, of course. I'm sorry. Please do come in. I didn't recognize you."

Jimmy smiled smugly, walking past the bouncer. So what if he told a small white lie. Once he got everything sorted with Thomas they would be friends. But first he would need to find him amidst the crowd of men.

Jimmy decided to skip past the dance floor and head straight for the bar, hoping he would be there again. Sadly, he was disappointed. All who he recognized was Branson, tending bar. Jimmy squeezed his way to the counter.

"Branson!" Jimmy hollered.

Branson glanced over to him, catching his eye for a split second before looking away. 

_Well that was rude. Branson full on looked at him and purposefully ignored him!_

"Branson!" Jimmy shouted again. 

Branson pretended not to hear him, turning his back to Jimmy.  
   
"Wait Branson!"

Branson walked to the other end of the bar. Jimmy tried to follow, maneuvering through the large crowd. 

"Branson! C'mon!" Jimmy yelled over the people. "Just give me a second."

Branson didn't give in. He just stood there drying the glasses, acting as if Jimmy didn't exist.

Jimmy wasn't going to stand for that. He shoved himself between a couple who stood opposite of Branson.

"Branson, hear me out," Jimmy spoke in a softer tone, no longer having to shout. He ignored the annoyed looks the couple gave. "Please."

"Fine," Branson sighed, giving up. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to Thomas."

"Well he doesn't want to talk to you."

"But I want to apologize! Can you please just tell me where he is so I can explain it to him?"

"Look, what you did to him...it messed with him. It might be best if you just left him alone."

"That's the whole point of this!" Jimmy snapped.  _Why was it so difficult for Branson to understand?_  "I want to apologize for my friends' idiotic behavior."

"The best I can do is tell him that you're here. If he wants to talk then go at it, but I'm not leading you to him." Branson offered.

At this point Jimmy was desperate. "Fine."

Branson instructed an employee to take over the bar as he retreated into the back room.

Jimmy anxiously drummed on the bar top.

The young man with sandy blonde hair next to him placed a delicate hand on his shoulder. "If he really loves you, he will forgive you."

"What?" Jimmy asked, genuinely confused.

"Thomas," the man from Jimmy's other side spoke. He had dark hair that reminded Jimmy of Thomas'. "That man you are screaming about. He will forgive you, if he loves you," 

"Loves me?!" Jimmy looked between the two men as if they were crazy. "I just met the guy yesterday!"

"Oh...then why are you so worked up over him?" The man on his left pressed.

"Well...it's just that..." Jimmy didn't know how to answer without explaining the whole story. 

"Oh, I get it," the man on the right spoke with a coy smile. "You like him. He must be a real looker if he has got you this hot and bothered in one day."  
   
"No! That's not it at all," Jimmy defended.

"Then what is it?"

"It's just..." Jimmy lost his train of thought for he saw Branson come out the back room. He strained to see if anyone was with him. There was no one.

Branson came over with a hardened look. "It's no good I'm afraid."

"But-"

"Sorry Jimmy, but no." Branson said adamantly and left to refill someone's drink.

Jimmy felt gutted. Thomas had rejected him without even giving him the chance to speak. 

His feelings must have shown because the man on his left placed his hand on Jimmy's arm again. "Don't give up. If you like this man, which it seems you do, keep trying. He will come around."

"Er...thanks?" Jimmy replied.

"Here," the man on his right slid him shot glass, "this will help the pain."

"Thanks," Jimmy graciously took the drink, which didn't contain nearly enough alcohol for Jimmy's liking.

"But Kieren's right," the man with the dark hair continued to speak, "keep trying. That's what I had to do with this him."

The man referred to as Kieren blushed, "Yeah, well Simon was so damn persistent I couldn't say no."

"And we've been together ever since!" Simon cheered.

"Congratulations," Jimmy said flatly, "May you two have everlasting love." He didn't mean to say it so insincerely, but he wasn't in the cheeriest of moods. All he wanted to do was go home. So that's what he was going to do. "I best be off. Thanks for the drink."

Jimmy made his way to leave, giving each Simon and Kieren a nod goodbye. Simon called after him, "I hope you find it too...the whole everlasting love thing. Don't give up on him."

Jimmy gave a thin smile, leaving without a response. He didn't understand why these people were acting as if Thomas was his one true love. He even told the couple he had only met Thomas a day ago. Yeah, they may have shared a kiss, but that was all for the sake of getting rid of William. It wasn't like Jimmy was hoping it would happen again.

The thought of Thomas kissing him again  _certainly_ did not cross his mind and he  _certainly_ did not spend the entire night replaying the scene in his head because he was  **absolutely, positively not gay**.

Though Kieren and Simon's advise was clearly for the wrong intentions, they had a point. Jimmy shouldn't give up on Thomas. Thomas deserved an apology and Jimmy was going to give it to him if it was the last thing he did.

So that is how Jimmy found himself outside  **B &B** for the third night in a row. His strategy for tonight was to ditch the middleman and go directly to the man himself, grantees he could find Thomas in the large crowd. So basically,  he was repeating last night's plan, but with hopes of better results. He skipped past the queue, learning from last night not to waste his time waiting when he could simply play his  _Thomas_ card.

Jimmy greeted the bouncer with a warm smile. "Hello there. Me again. Just meeting up with Thomas, so if you don't mind..." Jimmy tried squeezing past the over-sized man. The man didn't budge. 

_Why must all bouncers be this ridiculously large? Did this club have to fulfill every stereotype?_

The man shook his head, "Not tonight."

"Sorry, but don't think you heard me. I said I was  _meeting Thomas_." Jimmy stressed the phrase, hoping it would remind the man of their nearly identical conversation last night.

"Funny thing that, you meeting with Thomas cos I met with him earlier and he forbade me from letting you in no matter what. Seems to me as if he doesn't want to speak with you. So move along pal."

Jimmy hated to think that Thomas went to the extremes of having him barred from the club. "I think you have me mistaken for someone else, surely." 

"Mhm let's see," the bouncer looked down at his clipboard, "blue eyes, a dopey smile, and perfectly done hair...seems like you fit the description to me. Now leave before I really do call the cops."

"Fine," Jimmy spat, irritated his plans had be thwarted yet again. 

He took his leave and made it halfway down the alley when a new idea occurred to him. He could wait until the club closed to catch Thomas as he left! 

_Brilliant!_ He thought to himself.

Jimmy propped himself against the damp alleyway wall, making himself comfortable for the long wait ahead. He knew he had enough time to make a quick trip home and be back just before closing, but he didn't want to risk missing Thomas. So Jimmy stayed put. 

He stayed there for some hours. He watched as the queue lessened in size; it was getting late and people were becoming impatient. He saw disgruntled couples leave in irritation. 

Jimmy could sympathize with their anger. The only thing that kept Jimmy from turning into the Hulk was the fact Thomas described him as having _perfectly done hair_. At least Thomas remembered one good quality about him. Maybe there was some hope for a happy outcome.

Jimmy had to believe a happy ending was possible or why the bloody hell was he still waiting in the freezing alley.

The club's closing was signaled by the large masses of men filtering out. They clung to one another in tight embraces whilst kissing and groping.

_Well at least someone was going to get lucky tonight._

Jimmy straightened in anticipation, running a hand through his hair to make sure it was  _perfectly done_. Though why Jimmy was concerned with wanting to impress Thomas was still a mystery to him.

Jimmy watched the exit closely. Thomas should be leaving any time.

So Jimmy waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Nearly an hour had passed since the last major group had left. Jimmy was starting to worry his plan may not work, in fact he was starting to worry in general.

He was standing by himself in a dark alleyway at 3 am in the morning in New York City with dark shadows passing by. This did not seem good.

_10 more minutes. I'll give him 10 more minutes and then I am leaving._ Jimmy bargained with himself.

He shuffled foot to foot, trying to keep himself warm in the cool night. Jimmy was an idiot not to wear warmer clothes, but then again he didn't think he was going to spend his night in an alleyway. 

"You still here?" A booming voice asked.

Jimmy squinted his eyes to make out the figure. He couldn't tell who it was until he was nearly in front of his face.

It was the bouncer.

Jimmy let out a sigh, "Bugger."

"That's some dedication my man," the man clamped a hand on his shoulder, "but I'm afraid you are wasting your time. Thomas left hours ago."

"Hours ago?! I was here hours ago and I did not see him leave. And I've been watching carefully!" 

"He left through the back door."

"There's a back door?!" Jimmy groaned. He can't believe he didn't think of the possibility. 

"Yeah, they don't use it too often though, only when there are cra-" he stopped himself and grimly smiled at Jimmy.

"When there are what?" 

The man took a deep breath, "When there are crazy people outside."

"Oh, so now he thinks I'm crazy! Well that's just lovely," Jimmy scathed.

"Maybe it's best you just let whatever it is you are trying to do go."

Jimmy wanted to agree, but Simon's words of encouragement echoed through his head. "No, I'm not giving up."

"Well good luck with that, kid. You're certainly going to need it because I know I won't be letting you in."

"Don't worry about me, I'll find a way." Jimmy promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for leaving kudos and such lovely comments on the first chapter! I love hearing what you guys have to say. It is probably my favorite part about this whole process.
> 
> Oh and some of you may have picked-up on this already, but I based the couple Jimmy talks to in the bar off of Kieren and Simon from the show **In the Flesh**. They are another favorite ship of mine. I couldn't resist slipping them into the story!


	3. All I Ask Of You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> About that "absolutely, positively not gay" thing...

"You're going to the club again? That's the third time this week!" Daisy questioned as Jimmy zipped up his hoodie, properly preparing this time for the cold.

"This time it's going to work," Jimmy smiled confidently.

"But what if it doesn't?"

"Trust me, it'll work." It had to. It was Jimmy's last plan.

"What about school?"

"It's only one day. I'm sure Bates won't even realize I'm gone." It's not like the class mattered much. He was only taking it for practice.

"Well...don't you think...." Daisy painstakingly began.

"Don't you think what?" Jimmy spat, wanting to hurry along the process.

"Don't you're coming off a bit strong? There's a reason why he's been ignoring you. Maybe it's best to leave things as it is."

"Not you too, Daisy," Jimmy sighed with disappointment. She was his last supporter of the  _apologize-to-Thomas-for-Alfred's-idiot-behavior_ scheme. Andy abandoned ship the night Thomas snuck out the side of the building. As for Ivy, she was oblivious to the whole thing, too concerned about herself, naturally. All he had left was Daisy and now she was leaving him.

"I think it's great that you want to be nice," Daisy rushed as she normally did when she became panicked, "but I think the moment has passed. It's not like you are going to see Mr.Barrow on a frequent basis."

"Why wouldn't I?" Jimmy questioned. 

"Well we're not going back to  **B &B**. Where else would we see him?"

"You may not being going back, but I am." Jimmy would be there every night if Thomas would allow him.

"But you're banned."

"But once I apologize, I won't be!" Jimmy countered. 

"And what good will that do you? It's a  _gay_ bar, Jimmy. Why would you want to go there?" 

Jimmy didn't answer because he didn't know why a  **absolutely, positively not gay** man would want to hangout in a gay bar.

"Well that is...unless...you're..." Daisy hesitated, anxiously playing with her fingers, "you're not...are you?"

"I'm not what?" Jimmy asked, stalling for time. He anxiously peered around the room looking for a distraction. He needed to change topics before she said-

"Gay."

Jimmy reddened and looked away. There was no way he could look at Daisy without giving himself away.

"That's okay if you are!" Daisy added quickly. "In fact, I think it would be lovely if you were."

Jimmy was so startled by her response that he looked up. "Why would it be lovely?"

"Because then I would know why you are going to such lengths to please Mr.Barrow. It's quite romantic!"

"Wait," Jimmy began to think aloud, "because I'm gay- _hypothetically speaking of course_ -it would be okay for me to go talk to Thomas, but if I were straight- _which I am_ -I'm considered as coming off too strong? That doesn't make sense."

"It actually makes a lot of sense," Daisy spoke with a tone of uncertainty, still fiddling with her fingers, "cos it would explain why you're acting so different."

"Different? How am I any different?"

"You smile a lot more."

"So just because I'm smiling more, you think I'm gay?!" Jimmy snapped. Daisy cringed in response. "Can't I just be happy?"

"I'm sorry," Daisy spoke so softly Jimmy could barely hear her, "it's just you seem to like Mr.Barrow a lot and I thought..."

Jimmy could see the tears swell up in her eyes. He didn't mean to upset her. She had just touched a nerve and Jimmy responded with the only thing he knew how: anger.

Jimmy took a deep breath before speaking to her much kinder, "Daisy, look, I'm not ga-I don't like men in that wa-" 

Jimmy couldn't even finish a sentence. He knew right then and there he was lying. He had been lying to himself every morning for countless of years. But it was in that moment, speaking the words out loud, he knew the reality of the situation and for the first time in his life, he allowed himself to acknowledge it.

He was  **absolutely, positively gay**.

And yes, he had a massive crush on Thomas.

The realization was so overwhelming Jimmy stumbled back onto the wall. Daisy rushed over to Jimmy's side and gave him a hug. Jimmy awkwardly stood there not knowing what to do with his arms. He lightly patted her back only out of obligation to respond back.

"It's okay," Daisy spoke softly, "I won't tell anyone until you're ready."

"Erm...thanks?" 

Daisy released Jimmy, fastly soothing out the wrinkles she left on his hoodie. "Well you best be off if you're going to catch him!"

Jimmy had forgotten about the time. He checked his watch,  letting out a quick swear word before rushing out.

Today was going to be different. That's because his plan was different. He decided to switch things up and wait for Thomas early in the morning. So far nighttime hadn't been successful, so Jimmy wanted to go the complete opposite of that. He risked the chance of Thomas not being there, but surely as a co-owner of the bar, Thomas would have to deal with daily things such as deliveries. At least that was what Jimmy was hoping for.

However, Jimmy was now twenty minutes behind schedule due to his run-in with Daisy. He prayed Thomas hadn't already showed up in that time.

The alleyway was a lot different in the morning night. For one,it seemed a lot more friendlier. There were no mystery shadows lurking at the ends of it. Even the graffiti-which was barely visible at night-was pleasant. Numerous tags in bright colors read:  
**LIVE YOUR LIFE.  
** BE YOU BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE CAN.  
YOU ARE PERFECT.

They were all very inspiring, which Jimmy found rather fitting seeing as they were right to a gay bar where most attendees were worried of how others might perceive them. Jimmy was certainly in that category. He wondered if Thomas strategically had them placed there for people to look at while they waited in line. 

"I could have you arrested for loitering."

_Speak of the devil._

Jimmy whipped around to see Thomas powerfully strutting down the alleyway, his long navy trench coat fluttering in the cold wind as he walked. He wore a grimacing scowl, the kind that made Jimmy glad that looks couldn't really kill. The smoke from his cigarette trailed behind him, adding to the foreboding feel.

"Thomas!" Jimmy barely breathed. It was finally happening. Thomas was in front of him.

"You don't give up do you?" Thomas said in an irritated voice, but there was the tiniest smirk on his face.

"I go after I want," Jimmy said boldly. 

The smirk was completely wiped from his face, only leaving his irritation present. "Well that certainly wasn't the case the other night." 

"That's what I'm here about. My friends-well they're not even my friends really, I'm just kind of stuck with them-are complete pric-"

"Oi!" Thomas stopped him mid-sentence. "Watch the language. There are young ones present."

"Wha-

Thomas side-stepped to reveal a small girl no older than five standing directly behind him. She had dark brown hair that skimmed right above her bright blue eyes. 

"This is Sybil, Branson's daughter." Thomas flicked away his cigarette and bent down to Sybil. He spoke much softer to her, "Sybbie, want to introduce yourself?"

The girl shied away, looking to the ground. Jimmy sympathized with her pain. He hated introducing himself to new people, but if he wanted to get on Thomas' good side, he was going to have to bite the bullet.

Jimmy lowered himself so he was on the same level as the others. "Hi Sybil! My name is James..." She didn't say anything, so he awkwardly added, "but most people call me Jimmy."

That seemed to break the ice because Sybil looked at him with big eyes. "My daddy calls me Sybbie and so does Uncle Thomas!"

"Oh  _Uncle Thomas_ calls you that, does he?" Jimmy couldn't help but snicker slightly at the name. Thomas didn't look like one to be called Uncle Thomas. However from the grin he was trying to hold back, Jimmy could tell Thomas loved it.

"Yes!" Sybbie clarified. "Do you know Uncle Thomas?"

"Yes, I do, but I don't think he likes me very much."

"Why not?" She said with scrunched brows.

Thomas interjected sternly, "That's between me and Jimmy, Sybbie."

Jimmy ignored him and told Sybbie the story anyways. "Well you see, my friends were very mean to Uncle Thomas. I was so shocked that they would do such a thing that I couldn't speak. So now your Uncle Thomas thinks I am mean like them. I haven't been able to tell him that I froze up and made a huge mistake or that I'm sorry for it." 

Jimmy risked a glance at Thomas. His eyes were locked at the ground in front of him, his lips pursed. Jimmy needed to make this better. When he spoke again, he kept his eyes on Thomas. 

"But that's why I'm here today. I'm hoping your Uncle Thomas will forgive my friends' rude behavior and know that I had no part in it. I feel absolutely dreadful for not stopping it. Do you think he could forgive me?"

Jimmy could see Sybbie nodding excitedly from the corner of his eye. Thomas chuckled at her reaction, his expression much more softer now.

Jimmy decided to strike while the iron was hot, "Shall we ask him, then?"

Sybbie nodded once more. They both looked to Thomas with pleading eyes.

Thomas' eyes flickered between the two of them. He opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by his mobile ringing.

Thomas sighed as he answered the phone, "This bloody better be worth it...No, I needed that shipment yesterday...You have it now?...Good...If it could wait, I wouldn't have ordered it for yesterday, would I?...Twenty minutes. That's all you get."

"All right, I'll forgive you, but-"

"Yes!" Jimmy and Sybbie exclaimed at the same time.

" _But_  on one condition."

"Anything," Jimmy said automatically. He felt as if he could do anything with Thomas' forgiveness.

"Stay here with Sybbie for a bit. I have to meet with one of the vendors and Branson will kill me if I take her."

"Yeah, okay." Jimmy agreed even though he had no idea what to do with a five year-old.

"I'll set you guys up in the office. There's some paper and crayons in there you can use," Thomas settled his concern.

Thomas opened the club and lead them to the secretive back room that Jimmy was so curious of. It was bigger than what he had imagined. There were two mahogany desks on either side of the room filled with various papers. On the wall directly in front of him lay a black leather couch with an accompanying coffee table. Thomas ordered them to sit there while he rummaged through a cabinet behind one of the desks. 

"I know there should be some crayons in here," Thomas mumbled to himself as he searched.

"I love coloring!" Sybbie cheered, dangling her feet off the side of the couch. "I drew Daddy a lepoardcan because he's Irish! See it's over there!"

She pointed over to the wall Thomas was currently standing by. Jimmy could make out a little ginger man standing next to a pot of gold.

"It's leprechaun, not leopardcan. And you're Irish too," Thomas called from the cabinet. His head was practically buried in it searching. "Aha! Here they are!" Thomas victoriously shouted, bringing over a box of crayons and stack of blank paper.

Sybbie lunged for the utensils and immediately began coloring.

"Jimmy," Thomas called, "a word."

Jimmy sprang from the couch and followed Thomas away from Sybbie. Thomas spoke in a lowered voice, "I ought to be back in an hour. She should be fine coloring, but if not, there is a video of her's on Branson's desk she likes to watch. You can just pop it in his computer." Jimmy nodded to show his comprehension. "I'm going to lock-up the club so no one should be able to get in. But if there should be any kind of problem give me a call."

Thomas went to the coffee table and scribbled down his number in bright orange crayon. "Thanks Jimmy, I appreciate this." He turned to address Sybbie, "Now I got to go if I want to make it on time. Be good for Jimmy for me!"

"I will! Bye Uncle Thomas!"

Thomas waved a small goodbye to the both of them and left.

"Sooooo," Jimmy looked about the empty office suddenly feeling extremely out of place. He was left in unknown territory with a girl he met not even five minutes prior.

"Would you like to color with me?" Sybbie asked, not looking up from her drawing. 

"I can't draw."

Sybbie looked up with her jaw hanging open, "Everybody can draw!"

"Well I can't," Jimmy said flatly.

"Here I'll help you!" She got out a piece of paper for Jimmy to use. "Draw a circle like this and then a line here and a line there." 

Jimmy tried to keep up with her. He had no idea what he was drawing; he was just imitating her moves. When it was all said and done, Jimmy drew what was believed to be a sun. It was a complete mess, but Sybbie seemed rather proud of her's. Jimmy helped her tape it up next to her "lepoardcan" picture on Branson's wall. 

"I'm bored!" She pronounced once the finished product was on the wall.

"Don't you want to draw some more?"

"No," she said with a hint of sass.

"Okay, how about a movie then?" 

Sybbie didn't answer verbally, instead choosing to show her answer physically by running to Branson's desk and sitting in the desk chair. Jimmy up started the computer and looked around the desk for the film. Jimmy had to scour between papers of invoices and budget plans to find the desired box. He imitated Thomas' earlier, "Aha!", upon finding it. 

"That's my mommy," Sybbie said with a pointed finger, drawing Jimmy's attention to a picture next to Branson's computer screen. In it was Branson standing next to a young dark haired woman with a jovial smile. Her hands rest on her building stomach. She looked about seven months gone. On her otherwise stood a much younger Thomas. His hair was parted off to the side, which made him look entirely different from how he did now, but Jimmy would recognize Thomas' face anywhere. He had spent enough time thinking of it the last few days. Thomas bore a bright grin, just as wide as Sybbie's mother was. Branson, on the other hand, was barely smiling. He had a warm look of pride on his face. Jimmy wondered what the occasion was. 

Sybbie pulled him from his thoughts when she demanded the movie. Jimmy obeyed orders and then left her to watch her film in peace. 

Jimmy awkwardly circled around the office, not knowing what else to do. He somehow inadvertently wandered to Thomas' desk. Jimmy glimpsed at its contents. He knew he shouldn't be invading his privacy,  but his curiosity was getting to him. The one picture of Thomas with Branson and his wife had given Jimmy the smallest of insights into Thomas' life and now he was anxious for more.

Jimmy, however, saw no pictures or things linking to his personal life on his desk. Thomas' desk was neat and organized-not a single item askewed. Jimmy found the primness of it all very cold and detached. He wish there was a way to liven it up.

And then a brilliant idea came to him. He brought over his hand drawn sun he had created under the guidance of Sybbie and placed it on a barren corner of his desk. He scribbled his name in the corner and wrote cheesily,  _I hope this brightens your day_. The picture wasn't much, but it added color to Thomas' otherwise drab workspace. Jimmy wasn't even proud of the picture; in fact he was rather embarrassed by it, but for some reason Jimmy didn't mind if Thomas thought it silly, as long as it made Thomas happy.

A nagging voice in Jimmy's head told him it was because he liked Thomas and would do anything to make him smile.

_Oh, shut it._  

He hated that voice.

Thankfully the arrival of Thomas drowned out the sound of it.

"Uncle Thomas!"

Thomas flashed a grin, "Ah, good. You're still alive in one piece. That's good."

Jimmy rolled his eyes, "It's nice to see how much faith you have in me."

"Well I've only actually talked to you one other time, so yes, my faith in you is a bit skeptic at this point." He had a point.

"Jimmy and I drew pictures!"

"You did?" Thomas asked.

"See?" Sybbie pointed to her picture on the wall.

"Oh, that's lovely. Did you hang yours up as well Jimmy?"

"Uh, actually no I didn't," Jimmy was beginning to think his idea was rather silly. Maybe there was still time to quickly remove it before Thomas saw.

"He put it on your desk!" Sybbie exclaimed, ruining Jimmy's hope.

"He did?" Thomas raised a skeptic brow and went to where the paper was. Jimmy saw the corners of Thomas' lip raise just slightly. "I didn't know you were such an artist."

"Everyone can draw-that's what I told Jimmy!" Sybbie proclaimed from Branson's desk before turning her attention back to the movie.

Thomas chuckled and turned to face Jimmy, "Well I'm not sure everyone  _should_ draw."

Jimmy blushed furiously at the comment.

"Ah, don't worry," Thomas spoke in a soft whisper, "I was talking about Sybbie."

Jimmy pushed at him lightly.

"Now how 'bout we get ourselves a couple of drinks?"

"What about Sybbie?"

"She'll be fine in here."

Thomas lead them out the office and to the bar. Jimmy took the seat closest to the edge. Thomas stirred them a light cocktail, something way too strong for this early in the morning, but Jimmy downed it anyways. He was finally on good terms with Thomas and that was cause for celebration. 

"I'm glad were friends again, Thomas."

"So is that all we are, friends?"

"Well-uh-I didn't think..." Jimmy stammered, caught by surprised. 

Thomas let out a chuckle, "Whoa, calm down Jimmy. It was just a joke."

"Oh," Jimmy let out a sigh of  relievement.

"So when are you going to tell them?"

"Tell who what?" Jimmy played stupid.

"Your mates that you're gay."

"Like I said, they're not my mates," Jimmy stressed, "In a few months I'm never going to see them again. What's the point in telling them?"

"So what? You are going to stay in the closet for the next few months? That doesn't seem quite right."

"Well Daisy knows. She kind of figured it out. She was real nice 'bout it. But I don't care to tell the others...you saw how Alfred reacted the just when he thought you were hitting on me. Imagine what he'll do when I tell him that I'm gay."

"You can't worry about Alfred."

"Easy for you to say, you're not the one living with him!" Jimmy pointed out.

"I've been around long enough to know that the world is filled with thousands of Alfred's. No matter how far you run, no matter how what country you're in, there is going to be someone like Alfred trying to stop you. So stop running before you wear yourself thin. If Alfred doesn't like the fact you're gay, that is his problem, not yours."

Jimmy knew Thomas' words had truth to them, but Thomas was asking him to wake a sleeping giant and he wasn't quite sure he was ready to do that. 

Thomas must've seen the hesitation in Jimmy's eyes because he gave a long exasperated sigh, "When you're ready to stop running, give me a call."

And with that, Thomas left Jimmy sitting at the bar by himself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far! Love hearing what you guys think.


	4. If You Were Gay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To be in the closet or not to be in the closet: that is the question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should warn everyone that this, along with all my other works, is not beta'd. So please let me know if you come across a mistake!

Jimmy wanted to stop running. He wanted that more than anything. But wanting and doing were two very separate things. 

The thought of coming out to Alfred frightened Jimmy beyond belief. It wouldn't only mean for awkward living conditions, but it would also mean openly admitting he was gay. It was a fact he had been hiding for months...years...decades. Jimmy wasn't sure how long it truly was since he always pushed back any thoughts that could be misconstrued. However, now that Jimmy had slightly given into those thoughts, he wanted more. He wanted Thomas. And the only way to get to Thomas was to come out.

That was easier said than done.

A whole week had gone by and Jimmy still hadn't come out. Daisy was starting to become annoyed. Jimmy had filled her in on that morning at the bar and ever since she had been pushing Jimmy to come out. She somehow found a way to incorporate gays into almost every group conversation they had, allowing the perfect opportunity for Jimmy to come out. Jimmy should have been grateful for that, but it only made matters worse for the fact it brought out Alfred's homophobia. Alfred would steer the conversation back to that night at Thomas' club, stating how horrid it was to be exposed to that kind of environment. 

The only good thing to come out of these awkward conversations was that Andy finally grew a backbone. He learned to voice his opinions without having anyone's influence. Thankfully he was in agreeance with Daisy and Jimmy on the matter and wasn't afraid to stand up to Alfred. He did this on several occasions, which made Jimmy like him even more. Jimmy remembered the first time Andy stood up to Alfred and had told that he was being stupid for believing that there was something wrong with gay people. It was absolutely brilliant. He left Alfred completely speechless. Alfred had to turn to Ivy for support, but she was too busy filing her nails. She was completely useless.

_No surprise there._

How she was going to pass her courses was beyond Jimmy. He knew he hadn't been giving his best effort in school with skipping class and what-not, but he knew Ivy had been putting in even less effort. Jimmy was barely getting by, so it was a mystery to how Ivy wasn't flunking out. But then again, that was her problem, not his. 

Jimmy's problem was trying to refrain himself from punching Alfred in the face. 

His hatred for Alfred grew with each day he had to listen to him prattle on about why gay people were bad. Today was no different.

"And then there are people like Thomas who hit on innocent bystanders like Jimmy! It is wrong," Alfred concluded.

"You're wrong," Jimmy spat, his anger reaching its boiling point. He hated when Alfred brought up Thomas. He had no right to talk about him, especially like that.

"What?" Alfred asked tensely.

"I said, _you're wrong_." 

"How can you even say that? You were a victim yourself! I saved you from that slimy guy. You should be thanking me."

"I should be thanking you?" Jimmy laughed in disbelief, borderling the line of hysterics. "That's rich."

"You should!" Alfred responded back defensively. "That Thomas guy was swarmy and not to mention rude."

"He got us into the club for free," Andy interjected, "I hardly call that rude."

"He also pushed himself on Jimmy," Alfred stated.

"He didn't _push_ himself on me."

"He was all over you! If he were that close to me, I would've decked him."

"Like he would ever want to be that close to you." The thought of Thomas and Alfred made Jimmy want to barf, but then again, anything concerning Alfred made Jimmy want to barf.

"Good! I don't want him that close to me. You didn't seem to have a problem with it though," Alfred said in an accusing tone.

"No, I didn't."

"Why is that?" Alfred challenged.

"Maybe because I am a not a judgmental homophobic human-being. Or maybe it's because I _like_ being that close to Thomas, who by the way, if you say one more thing about I swear to God I will punch you in that thick head of yours."

"Wait, you like Thomas? You're..." Alfred went ghastly pale.

"Gay?" Jimmy finished for him. Before he even had time to think, the words flew from his mouth, "Yeah, I am. So I suggest you shut that runny trap of yours before I silence it myself." 

That got Alfred to shut up. He backened towards the apartment door, grabbing his coat off the rack. "I need to get out of here. Ivy you coming?"

"What?" Ivy asked cluelessly from her magazine, completely oblivious to her surroundings.

Alfred tossed Ivy her coat. "C'mon, we're going out, proper like. You know like _man and woman_."

Alfred sent one last glare towards Jimmy before giving the door a proper slam as the two exited.  

Daisy waited all of two seconds before she started cheering. "I'm so proud of you, Jimmy! You did brilliant!"

"What you just did was huge," Andy clapped Jimmy's shoulder, "Congratulations. How does it feel to get that off your chest?"

"Truthfully?" Jimmy took a minute to think about it. He was so caught up in the moment that this was his first time to truly think about what he did. He finally came out. "It felt bloody amazing."

"I think this calls for celebration," Andy grabbed a bottle of booze from the counter.

Jimmy grinned, "I couldn't agree with you more."

Countless shots later the three of them were beyond drunk. Daisy was hiccuping every five minutes that caused her to go into a set of giggles, Andy was red-faced and slurring his words to such an extent that no one could understand what he was saying, and Jimmy was swaying about that he could barely able to stay upright.

"You were so-" Daisy paused to hiccup, followed by a fit of laughter, "great Jimmy."

"I can't believe that I wasss even friendsss with that jerk," Andy slurred as he slumped next to Daisy on the couch. 

Daisy rubbed at his arm, "Don't be like *hiccup* Andy. You were just being nice."

Jimmy watched the two of them comfortably from his spot on the chair in silence. It was obvious the two were meant for each other with them being overly kind and what not. Jimmy could see that even in his drunken state. Now only if they would see it.

"No 'cuse," Andy babbled on. "That man is intolerable and I actually supported it. I drug Jimmy out of the bar that night and-"

Daisy shushed him. "Forget about it. You already apologized to Jimmy. You thought you were doing the right thing at the time, but you know better now. You were too good to Alfred. He didn't deserve you."

"No, you're wrong. Alfred didn't deserve _you_ as a friend! You are way too good for him."

"You think that?"

"Of course I do! You are fantastic!"

Jimmy had heard enough of this for one night. He left the two of them to continue their flirting while he went to bed. And for the first time in quite some time, Jimmy slept in peace, completely at ease with himself.

Jimmy awoke way too early the next morning for someone with a hangover. However, school was an evil necessity that Jimmy had to attend if he wanted to keep his scholarship. Thankfully he only had Bates' class today, which meant he could get by without doing much. But first thing first, Jimmy needed some coffee.

He went into the kitchen to find a very non-hungover Daisy talking ecstatically to a very sleep-deprived Ivy.

"And then he kissed me!"

"Alfred tried to kiss me last night, but he bent too low and got my chin."

Jimmy snorted at Alfred's stupidity.

_Bloody idiot._

"Oh Jimmy," Daisy said way too loudly for Jimmy's pounding headache, "There you are! I've been waiting ages to tell you something."

"It's barely 8. Surely you haven't been waiting that long," Jimmy remarked.

"Trust me," Ivy groaned, "she has. She dragged me out of bed because she couldn't wait any longer."

"I've been up all night. I had to tell someone!"

"Next time you ought to wake up Jimmy. I'm dead tired."

"Well next time I will. At least he would appreciate my news," Daisy snapped.

"It was just a kiss," Ivy snided as she left her untouched toast on the table and retreated towards her room. "That kind of thing happens all the time."

"Not to me," Daisy called down the hallway.

"And whose fault is that?" Ivy yelled back before slamming her bedroom door.

Daisy groaned. "Why must she be so awful?"

"Because she likes Alfred," Jimmy said as he joined Daisy at the table, "and anyone who likes Alfred is awful by default."

That got a smile out of Daisy.

"So c'mon, what's this I hear about a kiss?" Jimmy egged on, wanting to keep Daisy in a good mood.

It obviously worked because Daisy smiled even wider. "You know how you left Andy and I alone last night?"

Jimmy nodded.

"Well after you left Andy started saying the nicest things about me and then all of the sudden he kissed me!"

"That's great Daisy."

"It was! He is so kind," she gushed.

"Yeah, he is a nice bloke, that one."

"He is so wonderful! Oh and he has the softest lips and his hands are truly-"

"I don't think I want to hear any more. I may be gay, but I don't think I can stomach hearing about my mate's hands."

"Oh, I've been so stupid!" Daisy scolded herself. "Here I've been going on about my boy stuff when you still haven't sorted out yours!"

"Pardon?"

"I'm talking about Thomas you nutter! You came out. Wasn't that what was holding you two back from getting together? Why haven't you called him yet?"

"Daisy, I just came out last night. Give me some time, yeah?" Truth was Jimmy wanted to call Thomas the moment Alfred walked out the door, but Andy wanted to celebrate. He certainly wasn't going to turn down friends when he needed them most. Then by the time Andy and Daisy were canoodling  on the couch, it was too late for Jimmy to call. He would've come off looking desperate. 

"Well he isn't going to be waiting for you forever! Call him!" Daisy urged. 

"I will." Daisy looked at him with pressing eyes. "I will, just later. I promise!"

"Imagine how great it would be if the two of you started dating, proper like, and went on a double date with Andy and I!"

"Whoa, don't you think you are getting a bit ahead of yourself? You only kissed last night."

"He already asked to walk me to class and then after school he promise to take me to Central Park! It is going to be so romantic."

"Sure," Jimmy lied. He didn't see the romanticism of walking about in the cold bitter air amongst hundreds of other New York residents.

"It will," Daisy sighed dreamily.

"What will?" A new voice entered the room. Jimmy cringed at it for it was Alfred's voice. When the two made eye unwanted contact, Alfred quickly looked away.

"It's nothing," Daisy schooled her tone into a cold abrasive one. "Or at least nothing I want to share with you."

"Daisy, you honestly can't be mad at me for what I said yesterday. You know I have a point."

Jimmy interjected, "I think Daisy is capable of making her own choices, don't you."

"Mhm, I don't seem to hear anything. Do you Daisy?" Alfred played stupid.

"Oh that is real mature, Alfred and as much as I would love reverting back to my six year old self, I have to get to school." Jimmy excused himself from the kitchen, but not before wishing Daisy a fun day with Andy.

Daisy promised she would and reminded Jimmy of his own, "Make sure to call!"

"I will!" Jimmy shouted as he walked out the apartment. In fact, he was going to call Thomas right now. He already had his mobile in hand. But what was Jimmy going to say?

_Hey Thomas, it's me. I came out to my roommates. Does that mean we can snog now?_

Does he ask him out? He never asked out a bloke before. Was it the same as asking out a woman? That was a stupid question. Why would it be any different? It was just a person asking another person out. Why was Jimmy making this so difficult? 

He needed to pull himself together if he was going to call Thomas and time was running out. Jimmy was close to school. He had only about a 10 minute walk give or take three minutes. His hands hovered over Thomas' contact number, nerves preventing him from actually doing so. 

"Okay, you can do this Jimmy," he chanted. "You can do this."

_It's now or never._

And before he could chicken out, he forced himself to hit dial. 

_*Ring. Ring. Ring.*_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter chapter; I'll post the next chapter soon to make-up for it!
> 
>  (PS-Has anyone picked up on the theme with the chapter titles?)


	5. The Origin of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jimmy is a blubbering mess.

"Hello?..Hello?..Who is this?"

Thomas' irritated voice made Jimmy immediately regret his decision to call. Maybe Jimmy didn't think this through...

Thomas huffed through the phone. "Well as much fun as this is, I'm going to go on with my morning. Goodb-"

"Wait! Thomas! Don't hang up, it's me...it's Jimmy. Sorry, I just kind of got caught up and..." Jimmy finished awkwardly.

"Oh, Jimmy," Thomas' voice softened, "What can I do for you this morning?" 

"I, um, got tired of running, as you would put it...so I told them."

"You told your mates?"

"My _room_ mates," Jimmy stressed, "There is not enough money in the world that would make me befriend Alfred."

Jimmy heard Thomas' small laugh, "So you're out then?"

"I'm not about to go waving a flag or joining in any parade," Jimmy had come to learn in his short time in New York that gay pride parades were a rather frequent event, "but yeah, I'm out."

"I'm proud of you, Jimmy."

"I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for you," Jimmy mumbled.

"Are you sure I'm worth all this trouble? There are quite a few people who wouldn't think so." Jimmy could hear the self depreciation in Thomas' voice. 

"Why the bloody hell would I go through all this if I was not positive?" 

"Well then, let's hope I don't disappoint you." 

"So...do we have a date?" Jimmy asked awkwardly.

"Saturday at 8."

"Great," Jimmy grinned before giving him his address and wishing him goodbye.

Going to Bates' class with a hangover didn't seem quite as dreadful now.

All Jimmy had to do was wait until Saturday.

And waiting was strenuous.

He just wanted to be with Thomas. And to make matters worse, Andy whisked Daisy away any chance he got, so Jimmy was often left alone with Ivy until Alfred got off work, which just made everything more awkward. Things were still tense between him and Alfred. Most nights were spent in silence, only with the exception of Alfred horrifically flirting with Ivy. Jimmy escaped to his room to avoid the nauseating scene.

He was so thankful when Saturday finally came. He didn't even care that Daisy was shaking him awake at 8:05 in the morning.

"Jimmy! Wake up!" Daisy pulled back the blankets on his bed. "Hurry up! Thomas is here."

"Thomas?!" Jimmy flew up in shock. "What's he doing here?"

"Don't be daft. He's come to pick you up for your date!" Daisy went to his dresser and started rummaging through his things. "I can't believe you slept in. Now hurry up! He's out there waiting for you."

She tossed Jimmy a shirt and a pair of jeans. Jimmy put them on quickly, not even bothering to see what she picked out. "Why is he here so early? Our date wasn't until 8!"

"It's past 8!"

"It was 8 tonight."

"Are you sure?" Daisy handed Jimmy a comb. He groaned at the realization that he wouldn't be able to do his hair properly. This whole morning was turning to crap rather fast. "Did he specifically say 8 at night?"

"No, he didn't," Jimmy momentarily paused combing his hair, "but he didn't state 8 am either! God, we haven't even gone on our first date and I am already buggering things up."

"It will be fine," Daisy soothed. "I'll go talk to him. Just hurry, will you."

"Thanks Daisy, I owe you one," Jimmy sent his regards as he flew through the room doing his last few finishing touches. 

He was ready two minutes later. He rushed into the living room only to find a giggling Daisy being swept away by a suave Thomas. They were dancing in a fashion Jimmy had never seen before.

He cleared his throat to draw attention to himself. The two stopped dancing on the spot and turned to him. 

"Jimmy," Thomas breathed with a gorgeous grin.

"Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt." Jimmy half-smiled, unable to stop himself. 

"Thomas was just teaching me how to do the Grizzly Bear! It is brilliant! You ought to try it, Jimmy!"

"Maybe another time. I've already kept waiting Thomas long enough."

Thomas took that as his cue to join Jimmy at the door. They both bid Daisy a farewell and headed out to the crowded New York streets. Thomas immediately lit up a cigarette, offering one to Jimmy. Jimmy thanked him and the two walked in silence as they powered through the _I'm so important that I work on the weekends_ business crowds.

"I truly am sorry 'bout keeping you waiting," Jimmy started, "I didn't think you meant 8 in the morning."

Thomas flicked part of the burnt ashes away. "Tis nothing. I guess I should've clarified."

"I guess I always pictured you as a night owl, you know, with the club anything."

"It's nice to get out in the daylight every now and then," Thomas joked. "But mornings are the best time to go here."

"And where exactly are we going?" Jimmy questioned as he continued to aimlessly follow Thomas.

"One of my favorite places," he replied with a smile.

Jimmy could easily see why this was one of Thomas' favorite places as soon as they arrived. It was a simple bench, its' light blue paint having long since faded and chipped away, that was hidden behind a thicket of bushes, separating them from the concrete jungle. It sat right along the bank's edge, providing then a breathtaking view of the Hudson River. 

Jimmy had seen the river tens of times before on his sightseeing adventures, however, this was the first time Jimmy had ever seen it like this. The rising sun reflected off the ebbing waves, causing a shimmering effect within the water. 

"You're right," Jimmy said next to Thomas on the worn bench, taking a long a drag from his cigarette, "the morning is the best time for this. It is beautiful.

"Mornings are also the quietest. Gives you a while to think before the homeless and drunks pack in."

"You come here often, then?" Jimmy pictured a distraught Thomas coming to this bench in the wee morning hours surrounded by fog, to contemplate heavy thoughts whilst staring out on the river.

Thomas simply nodded, taking a drag from his own cigarette. "It's peaceful here."

"Why? Don't you get enough peace at your own home?"

"Running a club and living with an Irish liberal and his four year old daughter is anything but peaceful."

"Why don't you get your own place?"

"It's difficult enough for Branson as it is. He rarely has time for little Sybbie. She needs a good home."

"I'm sure she has one...you're so great with her. I was left alone with her for an hour and I nearly flipped a gasket."

"You did just fine. Sybbie loves you. She wouldn't shut up about you, in fact," Thomas puffed out a breath of smoke, "Kept asking when she would see you again."

"Really? Cos when I was with her, she didn't say much or even seem to like me for that matter."

"Kids are funny that way."

"Do you want kids?" Jimmy inquired. Thomas didn't seem like the father figure.

Thomas quirked his head, "It's only the first date and you're asking about kids?" 

Jimmy cursed himself for having put his foot in his mouth, yet again. "I, uh, sorry, no I meant-"

"I'm just pulling your leg, Jimmy. But maybe one day in the future I'd like to have one of me own. Course I'd have to find a new surrogate...Sybil promised me she would be mine for if I needed one."

"So you two were close? I saw that picture of the three of you on the desk in your office."

"Oh, yeah. That was the day they asked me to be Sybbie's godfather...but yes, we were close. Very much so. Branson and I on the other hand, not so much. He hated me."

"Why?"

"For the same reason most people do. I'm no good...and if you were smart, you'd run as far away as possible."

"If you are so worried about me, then why did you rescue me from William that night in the club?"

"You were a blubbering mess that night. I may be bad, but I am capable of sympathy," Thomas said with a sly smile.

"Oh, shove it," Jimmy nudged into Thomas.

"That's what William wanted you to do him that night," Thomas snickered.

Jimmy chuckled. "You're a cheeky bugger, you know that?"

"I've been called worse."

"Despite what you hear, you're not nearly as bad as you think. I think you're quite brilliant, in fact."

"Now you're pulling my leg."

"No, I'm not," Jimmy said adamantly. "You got me to come. You're living with your mate in order to take care his daughter. You're practically a saint."

Thomas snorted, "Saint Thomas-that's something I thought I'd never hear."

"And you agreeing to go on a date with me was something I thought I'd never hear."

"Never say never, right?" Thomas mumbled around his cigarette.

The two fell into a comfortable silence, both contently staring out onto the flowing river. It was only broken after some time when Thomas offered to get them some breakfast, "C'mon, you must be starving."

Thomas took Jimmy to a small cafe on the outskirts of the city. It was rather quaint with its small booths and homey atmosphere-nothing like the typical New York cafes. Their waitress, Rose, lead them to a quiet table in the back. Jimmy slid in the booth only part way, as to leave a gap between him and Thomas, but Thomas closed it by scooting all the way into the booth so he was sitting directly next to Jimmy.

"So what can I get you boys?" Rose asked in a bubbly tone.

"Two teas, a scone for me, and whatever this fine gentleman would like," Thomas directed towards Jimmy.

"Oh, um, a scone for me as well, please. Thank you," Jimmy finished with a polite smile.

"You are right," Rose giggled looking at Thomas, "he is a gentleman! Such fine manners. You better make sure not to let this one go."

Jimmy blushed at the comment whereas Thomas grinned and patted Jimmy's thigh in pride. "I'm going to do me best."

Rose bounced away, mumbling something about _how cute_ , leaving the two of them alone. Jimmy was acutely aware that Thomas' hand was still on his thigh. The warmth of his hand seeped into Jimmy's jeans. 

His hand remained there for the rest of the date, which flew by way too quickly for Jimmy's liking. Before Jimmy knew it, they were already in front of the bakery that was just underneath his apartment. They stopped in front of the shop's door. Jimmy could faintly smell the afternoon's fresh bread coming out of the oven.

"I'm glad you got tired of running, Jimmy. I had a good time." Thomas bore a grin.

Jimmy's expression matched that of Thomas'."Me too."

"Good. That means you won't be opposed when I ask you to dinner on Monday night."

"As in a second date?" Jimmy asked hopefully.

Thomas nodded back reassuringly. 

"Yes!" 

Thomas quirked a brow amusingly, "So you are opposed?"

"No, of course not," Jimmy wasn't sure how Thomas always managed to get him blubbering like an idiot. "I want to go on a date with you."

Thomas gave a slight laugh. "Monday night it is then. Good day, Jimmy."

In one fleeting motion, Thomas swooped in and placed a kiss onto Jimmy's sweltering lips. He pulled away, leaving Jimmy stunned.

"More like _great day_ ," Jimmy mumbled under his breath.

Thomas gave Jimmy a slight squeeze on the arm and placed a small peck onto his cheek, "Just wait until Monday, love."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do we all think of Jimmy and Thomas' first date?


	6. My Shot

Monday night was worth the wait, as were all the other nights Thomas and Jimmy had gone out. It had only been a few weeks since their first date, but things were starting to become more serious. In fact, he saw more of Thomas along with Branson and Sybbie than he did his actual roommates. It was rather nice.

Jimmy loved spending time with Thomas. He finally found someone with whom he could make snarky remarks with. Plus Thomas' dark humor was just what he needed after having to put up with Alfred Tightwad and Ivy McBland-who by the way, was on her way to becoming Mrs.Tightwad-for so long.

It was true: Alfred and Ivy had officially become a couple. Jimmy had to find that out the hard way; he had accidentally walked in on them snogging late one night, after returning home from a date at the theatre. Jimmy was scarred by the sight and wanted to gouge out his eyes. 

However, the only good thing to come from all of this was that Alfred had finally stopped pestering him. Alfred no longer took jabs at him nor Thomas, but that was mainly because they weren't around each other long enough to do so. Alfred was busy with Ivy as was Jimmy with Thomas. And with Daisy dating Andy, it seemed as if everyone in the apartment had gone their own way. 

Jimmy quite liked it.

He was finally starting to enjoy his time in New York. He even thought about moving to the city permanently once his scholarship was over. All he needed was a job and a place to live, and if things continued to go well with Thomas, he might be able to provide him with both. Jimmy was practically living at Thomas' anyways. When he wasn't there with Thomas, he was there babysitting Sybbie while Thomas and Branson worked at the bar. Tonight was one of those nights.

"So Sybbie, what do you want to do?" Jimmy asked even though he already knew the answer. 

"I want to color!" Sybbie responded back enthusiastically.

Jimmy took his usual spot on the floor by the coffee table, "Why don't you fetch the crayons then, yeah?" 

Sybbie returned a moment later with a box of crayons in one hand and a stack of paper in the other, sitting down directly opposite of Jimmy.

"What are we drawing tonight?" Jimmy pondered while perusing through the box of crayons.

"I have to draw something for homework."

"And what would that be?"

"It's a surprise!"

"Is it anything I can help with?"

"No, I can do it!" She said firmly.

"Then what should I draw?"

"Something for Uncle Thomas. He likes it when you draw for him."

"That was one time!" Jimmy thought of the horrific sun picture that still sat on Thomas' desk.

"He likes it though! He always smiles when he looks at it."

"Oh, okay...um..."Jimmy fumbled, suddenly feeling his cheeks heat up. "What should I draw for him this time?"

"A unicorn! Uncle Thomas likes unicorns."

"A unicorn?" He asked in disbelief. 

Sybbie nodded.

"A unicorn it is then," Jimmy said with a sigh and began working on his future masterpiece.

"Done!" Sybbie shouted sometime later. "Want to see it?"

Jimmy looked up from his drawing to see Sybbie's. The picture was of four stick figures standing in what looked like Thomas' apartment. "Wow that is great...wait is that me?"

"Yeah! See, you're holding hands with Uncle Thomas." Sybbie pointed to where Stick Figure Thomas was holding Stick Figure Jimmy's hand. Then she pointed to the other figures, "And this is me and Daddy!"

"What exactly was your homework assignment?"

"To draw my family."

"I'm family?"

"Yeah! You're dating Uncle Thomas. You two are going to get married."

"I'm not sure about marriage. I don't think your Uncle Thomas likes me _that_ much."

"He talks about you alllllll the time to Daddy."

"He does?" 

Sybbie nodded dramatically. "Daddy always has to tell him shut up."

Jimmy kept a smile to himself as he did the finishing touches on his unicorn picture. 

Jimmy was rewarded for his fine artistry when Branson and Thomas crept into the apartment at little past 2 in the morning.

"Thanks again for doing this, Jimmy," Branson said sluggishly while slipping off his coat.

"You don't have to thank me every time. It's no problem really. I love hanging out with Sybbie."

"What did you guys do?" Thomas asked, mirroring Branson's actions.

"Do you even need to ask?" Jimmy groaned.

"I owe you," Branson clapped Jimmy's shoulder, "but at some other time because I'm knackered. I'll leave you two to it. Night boys."

"Night," the boys rang back in unison, watching Branson leave the room.

"So what did you draw tonight? A rainbow? A dog?" Thomas asked in amusement.

Jimmy handed Thomas the picture. "A unicorn. A little birdy told me you had a thing for them."

"You drew this for me?" He asked, staring at the purple unicorn with a half grin on his face. 

"Well that depends: do you like it?"

"Well I may not love unicorns as much as that little birdy told you, but yeah, " Thomas tore his gaze from the paper and looked directly at Jimmy, "I love it."

The intensity behind the words made Jimmy's heart pound. 

"Stay the night?" Thomas asked quietly.

"I've got school tomorrow," Jimmy pointed out even though he didn't really care.

Thomas wrapped his arms around Jimmy's waist, pulling Jimmy in tightly. "C'mon. Stay."  He buried his face into Jimmy's neck and mumbled, "You can still go tomorrow. I'll lend you some clothes."

"How can I say no to that?"

"Perfect." 

The night was perfect, so much so that Jimmy didn't mind that he was only running on two hours of sleep the next day when he attended school.

"Good night then, Jimmy?" Andy said knowingly as he watched Jimmy tenderly sit down next to him five minutes before class started.

"Hm?" Jimmy questioned. 

"You don't come home last night and then you show up wearing your boyfriend's clothes to class with a goofy grin plastered to your face. I'd reckon you had an eventful night." 

"You could say that," Jimmy smirked.

"You could say what?" Alfred quipped from Andy's other side.

"Oh, just that him and Thomas are hitting it off," Andy answered for him.

Alfred scoffed.

"Oh sod it, will you?" Jimmy had forgotten just how much Alfred annoyed him. 

"Well enjoy it while you can because I highly doubt you'll be seeing much of him when we go back home," Alfred snided.

"And who says I'm going home?" Jimmy replied coolly.

"You have to if you want to graduate."

"Yeah, but when I'm done with that who says I'm saying there? I've grown to quite like New York."

"You're going to stay here?" Andy asked.

"It's a thought." 

"A thought coming from your prick," Alfred sneered. "Seriously, New York? What about home?"

"What about home? I don't have any family or friends back there."

"What about us?" Andy asked with a hint of sadness.

"You'll be so busy with Daisy that you won't even miss me. And I don't think Alfred's going to miss me much, are you?"

Alfred contemplated for a moment before finally responding, "We did have some good times..."

"...yeah we did," Jimmy said unsurly, wondering exactly when they had these good times. "But you'll have Ivy."

"So you're really moving?" Andy asked again.

"If I can work it out, probably."

"Don't you have to become a U.S. citizen?" Alfred, the master of bringing someone down, asked.

"That or marry one to get a green card." Jimmy thought out loud.

"I bet Thomas would be more than willing to help you out there," Andy said with a wink.

"We aren't getting married. Why does everyone think that? We just started dating for bloody sakes!"

"Well you'll need to figure something out if you want to stay here," Alfred snided, ending their conversation as their professor walked into the room.

As much as it pained Jimmy to admit it, Alfred was right. He needed a green card if he wanted to stay in America. The two routes he knew of were to either take the citizenship test or marry an American citizen. And seeing as his relationship with Thomas was still forming, marriage was out of the question. So he would be forced to take the test.

From all the rumors he had heard, the American citizenship test was brutal. People spent months studying and even then some of them didn't pass. When he expressed this concern to Thomas one night in his office, he merely shrugged it off.

"You're going to do fine."

"But I heard that this one person studied for eight months and still didn't pass!"

"That's because they were probably studying the wrong material. Everyone memorizes pointless facts like who wrote 'America the Beautiful' or who created the American Flag. All you need to know are the basics."

"That would help if I knew what the basics were," Jimmy sighed.

"That's what I'm here for."

Jimmy arched a questioning brow.

"How else do you think I became a citizen? Branson and I had to take the test when we first moved here. I reckon between the two of us we can remember the basics."

"Yeah?" He asked hopefully.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Well it will be a problem when I'm back in Yorkshire and you're all the way over here."

"You're just going back for graduation, yeah? Well once you're done with that, come back here. I think you get six months or so before they boot you out of the country. That ought to give you plenty of time to pass it."

"But I'll need to find a job, a place to stay-"

"Don't be daft. You can stay here and there is no need to get a job. It will just distract you from studying."

"But I have no way to pay rent or-"

"You don't have to pay. Branson and I will have it covered."

Jimmy suddenly felt choked up. "I couldn't allow you to do that..." he spoke softly. "I can't just mooch off you guys."

"How 'bout this then: Branson and I let you live here free of charge in exchange for free babysitting?"

"You mean like I do now?"

"Yes, but instead of going home to some crammed flat filled with people you don't like, you get to stay here."

"Thomas...that sounds great, but that is a lot to ask and I-"

"Say no more. It's settled." 

"What about Branson? He may not even want me here."

"Don't worry 'bout him."

"But-"

Thomas cut him off yet again, "Look, we've discussed this before. He is perfectly fine with you living here."

Jimmy's heart thumped. "You've discussed it before?"

"Well...yeah," Thomas nervously brought a hand to the back of his neck, "It isn't against the law to hope, right?"

Jimmy bit back a smile. "Never."

Six months flew by a lot faster than Jimmy thought was humanly possible. 

So much had changed over the last little bit that Jimmy wasn't sure if it was all real. He went from living in one of the smallest towns in the United Kingdom to one of the biggest in the United States. And he was now an official university graduate with a degree that gave him no help whatsoever in being a glorified nanny, which he practically was at this point. 

Thomas and Branson stayed true to their word and allowed Jimmy to crash in their apartment while he studied to become a citizen all in exchange for watching Sybbie for a few hours while they worked at night. Jimmy still didn't see how it was a fair trade, but he went with it. 

His time spent studying though went to good use; he had learned a good amount of U.S. History that he knew he was going to forget once he got his green card, but all that mattered was that he remembered everything for the test. 

He couldn't fail. He couldn't get sent back to that pathetic town he use to call home. He couldn't lose Thomas. He needed to pass this stupid test, which was now in ten minutes time.

Thomas, Branson, and Sybbie all sat with him in the crammed lobby for support; however, that did not stop Jimmy from becoming anxious. His leg shook on its own accord. Thomas put a soothing hand on it to stop him. 

"Relax. You are going to do fine."

"You've been studying for months," Branson said as he bounced Sybbie on his leg. "At this point, you know more than Thomas and I put together."

"And then you get to stay with us, right Uncle Jimmy?" Sybbie looked at him with expecting eyes.

"I hope so," Jimmy plastered on a smile. 

Thomas patted his leg again. "And if something goes wrong, we can try again next month."

"Yeah, except I have to leave the country for three weeks."

"And then you'll get to come right back. But you won't even need to worry about it. You are going to pass the fist time and we will go home and celebrate." He then leaned in and whispered huskily into Jimmy's ear, "And then _we_ will celebrate later."

Jimmy eased at that, but it lasted all for about fifteen seconds before it turned back to nerves again when a worker came to fetch him for the test.

"This is it then...the moment of truth." Jimmy stood up shakily.

"Good luck, Jimmy," Branson gave a hopeful smile from his seat. "We'll be right out here cheering for you. Isn't that right, Sybbie?"

"Yes! Good luck, Uncle Jimmy!"

"Yes, good luck, Jimmy." Thomas stood up next to Jimmy. He gave him a gentle kiss on the lips and tossed a wink. "Not that you need it."

"I'll take all the luck I can get."

"James Kent," the worker yelled out into the lobby, "will you come with me."

With one last thumbs-up from Branson and Sybbie and a kiss from Thomas, Jimmy was ready for the most important test of his life. 

"Here goes nothing..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet again, this story went in a direction I wasn't planning!


	7. Finale

_**8 months later** _

The dreadful storm clouds matched that of Jimmy's mood. 

He wasn't sure how he got suckered into yet another dinner with Alfred. Well, technically it was dinner with Andy and Daisy, but Alfred and Ivy were also invited, and that soured Jimmy's demeanor. He wasn't sure when or why the pair had become all buddy buddy again with them. Last he knew, they didn't like either Alfred or Ivy, but tonight's dinner marked their third encounter for the week! He hated being back here.

He longed for New York City: the skyscrapers, the bustle, the shouting homeless guy on the corner 62nd street, a certain gay Irish bar...He longed for a lot of things. Being back in town just wasn't one of them. 

That's why Jimmy wasn't all smiles when he joined the others at a small table in the back of the restaurant.

"Oh Jimmy," Daisy tackled him into a hug, "I'm so happy that you're back!"

"Yeah, it's been rather quiet here without you," Andy cut in, shaking Jimmy's hand.

Alfred and Ivy didn't even bother getting up to say hello. They just sat at the circular table canoodling and offered a small wave.

_Ugh._

Jimmy put on a fake smile and waved back. He looked to Daisy to find out where he was going to sit. Thankfully, she patted the chair that sat between her and an empty on. At least he was saved there.

Twenty minutes into dinner Jimmy had become extremely anxious. His kept a close eye on the entrance door, checking every time it swung open.

Andy noticed this after the fourth time or so and attempted to reign in Jimmy's attention. "So we were thinking of having the wedding in the spring. Daisy loves how when the flowers are in bloom and it's the only time my parents could come in."

"I still can't believe you guys are getting married," Ivy said with a tone of mild disgust. "I mean, why would you want to tie yourselves down like that when you are so young? There is so much to do!" 

Alfred's demeanor instantly darkened. If it was anybody else besides Alfred, Jimmy would have felt sorry for the them, but this was homophobic Alfred, who could barely stand to look at Jimmy. So if anyone deserved to be in love with someone as non-commitmental Ivy, it was Alfred. 

Andy was the first to break the silence that had fallen over the table. "I don't think of it as being tied down. It see it more like I get to share the rest of my adventures with my best friend."

"And I love Andy more than anything! I don't need anything else." Daisy exclaimed, leaning to her other side to give Andy a sweet kiss. 

It sickened Jimmy.

Not that he had anything against the couple-hell, he endured putting up with Ivy and Alfred for them-but seeing them so happy together was only a harsh reminder that Thomas wasn't there.

He missed Thomas. 

His eyes flitted to the door again, pulling himself away from the loving couple.

"So Jimmy, do you think you'll be able to come?" Andy asked hopefully.

"Please say you can! We want all you guys to be there. I know we had our ups and downs..." Daisy trailed off awkwardly as she looked to Alfred and Ivy, but then picked up a second wind of energy again, "but New York is special to Andy and me. It's where we met and we want the people who were with us then to be at our wedding. Pleassssse say you can come, Jimmy!"

"I don't see why I wouldn't be able to," Jimmy tried to sound cheery when he was anything but. The thought of being here in the spring killed him. All he wanted was New York. His heart belonged there for many reasons, but for one reason in particular. 

And there he came now. 

Jimmy let out a deep breath that he didn't even know he was holding as Thomas came striding through the restaurant, taking his seat in the empty chair next to Jimmy's. He placed a light kiss on his head as he sat down. "Sorry, love. We got back later than planned. Robert couldn't get enough of little Sybbie. I think it's because she reminded him so much of Sybil. He just kept wanting to play, and Branson didn't have the heart to take her away."

"Oh, it's fine," Andy jumped into the conversation. "We're just glad you were able to make it here. Will you be able to attend the wedding as well?"

"Just give us the date and we will be there." Thomas draped an arm over the back of Jimmy's chair and flashed him a smile. "I'm afraid you might have to invite Branson and Sybbie though. They really enjoy being back here to visit."

"Of course we can!" Daisy said. "They flew all the way out here from New York just so we could announce our engagement to you all, so of course we can invite them to the wedding."

"I think Branson came out more so to visit his family than to hear about your engagement," Alfred snided, putting a quick damper to Daisy's excitement.

"Well if you didn't originally invite Jimmy and me, I don't think Branson wouldn't had gotten the idea to come out here as well," Thomas tried to placate. "So thank you for that. I think it's good for both him and Robert."

"It's weird how it all turned out, isn't it?" Andy questioned. "That the man who gave us our scholarships ends up being Branson's father-in-law."

"It's a small world," Daisy commented.

"Maybe that's why he choose a university in New York to us to," Andy suggested. "He knew you guys were there."

"Never thought about it like that," Thomas hummed. "But I'm glad he did whatever the reason."

"Yeah, I wouldn't have met Andy if he didn't." Daisy snuggled into Andy's side.

"Or I Alfred." Ivy put on a show of leaning into Alfred and giving him a heavy kiss. Jimmy rolled his eyes at the performance.

He turned to Thomas, trying not to hurl up the three breadsticks he had eaten in the last thirty minutes. He spoke to him in a low whisper, "Please don't act mushy and say _oh, me too_. I don't think my stomach can handle it."

"But I wouldn't have you if it were not for Sybbie's grandfather giving you that scholarship," Thomas said with playful eyes. 

If Jimmy hadn't missed him so much while he was out visiting the Crawley estate, he would've hit Thomas; but he was never so thankful to have him by side. The thought of Jimmy not passing his citizenship test and being stuck back in this town without Thomas made Jimmy's stomach turn. Luckily, he did not have to worry about that. 

He leaned into Thomas and mumbled into the crook of Thomas' freshly shaven neck, "I can't wait to go home."

Jimmy felt a light kiss on the top of his head. "Not long now, love. We will be home in a few days and you'll be working again, wishing you were back here."

Jimmy snorted. 

"Doubt I'll be wishing to be back here with them." Jimmy glanced around the table to make sure no one had heard. Thankfully they were all too wrapped up in their own affairs to notice. "But I will be wishing I was back in our hotel room with you."

Thomas let out a chuckle. "I love you, you know that?"

"Yeah, I do," Jimmy said with a content smile. "I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this story has finally come to an end. Thanks for sticking with it and I hope you all enjoyed it :)
> 
> (PS - all the chapters were named after songs from musicals!)

**Author's Note:**

> So I actually wrote this chapter quite some ago. It was originally attented to be a stand alone piece, but it somehow snowballed into 10+ chapters. The story started heading in a direction I didn't like, so I went back and edited out about half of it; therefore you can expect about 5 or 6 chapters for this story.


End file.
